Central clearing rates for CDSs hit record high

A volatile 2020 pushed more single- and multi-name contracts to central counterparties

The share of credit default swap (CDS) contracts cleared by central counterparties (CCPs) rose to a record 62% at end-2020, data from the Bank for International Settlements shows.

Notional amounts of cleared CDSs surged 23%, or $983 billion, to $5.2 trillion year on year.

The surge was driven largely by multi-name CDSs, with outstanding cleared amounts hitting $3.4 trillion – up 37% on end-2019. These contracts made up 68% of total multi-name CDS notionals as of end-December, up from 60% 12